The Babies Get a New President

Clara and Hank spent a good portion of Tuesday watching tv. Before you cry out in outrage about how fragile babies' minds are and the evils of tv before 18 months, 24 months or whatever timeline you believe in, hear me out on this one. With the inauguration of new president, Tuesday was filled with amazing images of happiness and community. I figure that while it is unlikely Clara and Hank will retain any of it, just the potential made it worth it for them.

I'm still pretty enamored with the whole idea of having a president that I can support. My obvious politics aside, it's been a long, dry stretch of politics at its worse to many, not just those "crazy liberals" like me. I also just love the idea that for C&H, it will just be the norm to have a minority as a president (although I do believe that all the definitions of who is the minority and who is the majority are vastly changing for the better with each passing year due to our ever increasing melting pot dynamic). Certainly a lot more work needs to be done for our nation to be truly colorblind, though I can't help thinking this is a pretty good start. And, as a mom, I'm just a little happier to be raising my babies in these times than four years ago.

Of course, we have wonderfully cheesy photos of the kids reaching for Obama's image on the tv.

From Jan. - Feb. 2009 (13 months)

Winter Boring Land

I suppose it comes as no surprise to people that winter in Buffalo is LONG. I mean really long. It isn't really the snowfall that is an issue. Surprisingly, we don't get a ton of snow where I live, though in the southtowns it is a whole different story. But, where I am, it is really just that it is cold, and the snow stays on the ground for a significant amount of time. Without kids, this is a nuisance perhaps, but not too terrible. With kids, it's like being trapped in a winter boring land. We can't go out for walks. Going to the store is an adventure in bundling and snow suits and struggles to keep hats on. Needless to say, I'm very eager for the beginning of spring, which is unfortunately many months off.

Anyhoo, so I'm trying to make the most of it. The family is recovering from a little bit of a stomach flu bug, so we are staying close to the nest. Hank and Clara are busy playing with their abundance of Christmas and birthday gifts. With today being Epiphany, they get a few more little things this evening. Not a shabby life.

Here are some current playing at home pics. The kids are pretty fascinated with hoodies and hats these days. Clara tries to put them on herself, with little success. Hank likes to see himself in the mirror after the hat is on.

From Dec. 2008 and early Jan. 2009

From Dec. 2008 and early Jan. 2009

From Dec. 2008 and early Jan. 2009

New Tricks

These days, the kids are surprising us with all kinds of new tricks. They can clap their hands, know how to locate their head, and love to dance. One of my favorite things is that the two clap for each other. For instance, if we say that Clara is doing a good job eating lunch, Hank starts clapping. If Hank stands well and we congratulate him, Clara starts clapping. Of course, I am a complete sucker for this and start congratulating the clapping baby, which makes the other baby start clapping. I love it. It's just so adorable.

We made a little video of the kids in which we tried to have them show off their new tricks. Being that they aren't exactly trick ponies, this worked only so so. Clara was willing to oblige us, but Hank had his own interests, as you will see.

From Dec. 2008 and early Jan. 2009

Clara Gets Hives--But Is All Better

It's been a bit of a challenging last few weeks around here. Though the holidays were delightful, we had some drama leading up to it. Clara had some crazy allergic reaction or something. One day she was fine. The next day, she looked like this:

From Dec. 2008 and early Jan. 2009

From Dec. 2008 and early Jan. 2009

Needless to say, we were a bit crazed about trying to resolve this issue. With the help of our awesome pediatrician group, we finally get things under control. But, I will add that really, truly, the ER was incredibly unhelpful. So glad Clara didn't get too much worse before the pediatrician's office opened. Of course, hives and crazy reactions only happen around here on a weekend in the midst of a snow storm. But, we survived and now have tales and photos.

The whole experience left Clara feeling a little out of sorts, but we are hopeful that she will return to her cheerful self before too long.